Daniel Barnett represents Lidl in trade union recognition dispute

Daniel Barnett acts for Lidl in its dispute with the GMB union over whether a group of 1.2% of its workers constituted an appropriate bargaining unit for compulsory trade union recognition.

The law states that, when deciding applications for compulsory union recognition, the Central Arbitration Committee must take into account “the need for the unit to be compatible with effective management”, and specifically requires the CAC to take into account “the desirability of avoiding small fragmented bargaining units within an undertaking”.

In the Court of Appeal last month, Lord Justice Underhill explained that “small fragmented bargaining units” in this context does not mean “a small island of union recognition in a sea of non-recognition”, but instead “fragmentation between bargaining units or fragmented collective bargaining.”